Richard Lugar Says Farewell

Richard Lugar, the senate’s longest-serving Republican, lost his seat in a primary election to Tea Party-backed challenger Richard Mourdock. Mr. Lugar, who had been Indiana’s senator for 36 years, was a household name. Lugar’s longevity was matched only by his incredible speaking ability and uncanny political know-how. He had been a role model in Hoosier politics for decades, but, after a while, he too succumbed to the temptations of elected office.

In days past, Hoosiers might have put up with a few of his scandals, but with a government as broke and dysfunctional as ours in Washington, no defense was sufficient. The people of Indiana threw Lugar out, and, in doing so, sent a message to all incumbents in the House and Senate – we are coming for you. You work for us. We, the people, are in charge, and we won’t put up with excess, waste, or extravagance. If you’re too weak or too old or too entrenched in the beltway lifestyle to think otherwise, get out.

That’s the message Hoosier voters sent to Washington last night, by a 60-to-40 margin. That’s the message that we’ll send to Washington again in November. That’s the message that politicians around the country are beginning to hear, loud and clear. That’s the message that finally told Richard Lugar it was time to go, a message which he responded to with this: